Forever 21 Taps Lazard, Kirkland for Restructuring Advice

Eliza Ronalds-Hannon and Lauren Coleman-Lochner, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) -- Forever 21 Inc. has added investment bank Lazard Ltd. and law firm Kirkland & Ellis to its roster of advisers as the fashion chain tries to turn itself around, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

The retailer is looking for ways to avoid becoming another victim of an industry slump that has seen a series of chains shutter stores or go out of business. A spokeswoman for Forever 21 declined to comment. Representatives for Lazard and Kirkland & Ellis didn’t provide comment.

Forever 21 operates more than 800 stores in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America, mainly in the U.S. It rents mall space from Macerich Co., Taubman Centers Inc., Simon Property Group Inc. and the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, among others, according to filings.

To contact the reporters on this story: Eliza Ronalds-Hannon in New York at eronaldshann@bloomberg.net;Lauren Coleman-Lochner in New York at llochner@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rick Green at rgreen18@bloomberg.net, Dan Wilchins, Kelsey Butler